More than 30% of people won't get a flu shot this year. U.S. adults spend nine and a half hours a day sitting or lying down. A full 33% of American adults sleep six hours or less a night.

That's s trifecta for heart woes. Now look at how reversing those common behaviors can protect you from cardiovascular disease and heart attack:

1. Get your flu shot, especially if you have a chronic condition such as heart disease. It may reduce your risk of heart attack by 26% and the risk of cardiovascular death by 33% according to three studies, the latest in the journal Nature. The benefits may come from a reduction in inflammation, prevention of secondary infections associated with the flu, and ensuring stability of plaque in the arteries, which can become destabilized during the flu.

2. Stand, and walk, in protest against sitting down. The international Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium looked at data on more than 15,000 people and found that replacing 30 minutes a day of sitting time with moderate to vigorous exercise significantly reduces your BMI and waist circumference, and lowers A1C readings — all of which are important ways to protect your heart health.

3. Plan on sleeping more than six hours a night (but not more than eight). The Mayo Clinic says data on 3,000 adults ages 45 and older shows that folks who sleep fewer than six hours a night are at around double the risk for stroke or heart attack compared with people who sleep six to eight hours per night.